Condiment dispenser



Oct. 20, 1953 E. w. CLARK CONDIMENT DISPENSER Filed March 27, 1952INVENTOR I 5M M/ M.

absorb any appliedor contacting moisture or nnoisture absorbing. 1qualities.

Patented Oct. 20, 1953 UNITED PATENT CONDVIME'NT DILSPENSER I r al- 1 w.d am, smart, Fla.

ipsncattmrtw, 1952, se ame.- 27 8.325

" dClaimsf (outta-i190) Th s. in eniie relat s t m ve e i pe ser fpfinely d vide materials sijlch s r nar t ble a tand' he ik which W. M a-.iirelr i n e dene o. ab b a y meisiu're which they may contact and alsoto' absorb moisture from damp air. This'irivention relates morespecifically to a dispenser so constructed that the interior surfaces ofsame, excepting ordinarily the stopper, comprise a material which has arelatively greataflinity for and will quickly any moisturewhichcondenses thereon. ,In ordinary salt dispensers the interior surfacescomprise or are ordinarily made 1 ofmaterials such asglass, plastic orchina which do not absorb applied moisture, and I find that duringperiods of dampness the interior surfaces somade are very liabletobecome dampenedby moisture in the air within thedispenser condensingthereon. This condensed moisture is absorbed the salt when the dispenseris inverted and some'salt will adhere tothe dampened surfaces and somewill fall back and in turn dampen additional salt within the container.

Sometimesthe neck' of the bottle or container gmois ture;

My invention is particularly directed to a construction which is adaptedto overcome the.dif,-

1 ficulties caused by moisture condensing-out of the atmosphere withinthe dispenser and on to the interior surfaces of the container during'periods when the atmosphereis damp and subject to temperature changes.-I accomplish-thisresuit by constructing the entire interior surfaces ofthe dispenser, excepting ordinarilythe stopper becomes completelyclogged by adhering salt and as'mentioned previously, of. a material.which has a relatively low degree of heat conductivity andwhich also hasfairly good hygroscopicor Any moisture which may condense from-the. airwithintthe-dispenser and on to the interior surfaces of my hereindescribed dispensers during periods of damp air and'changing temperatureisquickly absorbed into the interior thereof where salt cannotordinarily contact it and hence salt within the dispenser will not bedampened to any appreciable that my dispenser willgive long periods,..of

trouble free operation.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from theaccompanying drawing and the following detailed description." 1

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is asectional elevation. of a dispenser, it also indicatesby'dotted linesthe mold and core'used forming same. Fig. 2 is a sideelevationof'a dispenser;

Fig. -3 is a fragmentary sectional elevation of a dispenser'showin'gamodified' form of stopper. Fig. 4 is similar to Fig-3; butshow'sadifferent stopper. Y f

Fig. 5 isa fragmentary sectional. elevation'of a-dispenser showinganother type of stopper..'..' A Fig. 6 is a fragmentarysectionalelevational'of a dispenserhavingan outer envelope or covering. 1 Fig. 7is similar toFig. 6',' -butfthefouter envelope or covering is omitted onthe-top, portion of'dispenser; Y 3

Fig. 8 is a sectional elevation of 'a-idispenser having an: outer.shell-.orlenvelope lined with a "hygroscopic:materiali'... Referring. in.detailito the drawing wherein; in the various figures the same numbersdesignate identical -.or similar parts. in Fig. l indicates thebodyofthe dispenser. .The. material which as .Lfind thatplasteroiParismay be'mixed with .suiiricient water so that it mayreadilybe poured into a mold and that a mixture so madewillset.fairly...quickly and form-a solid bodypthat hasa fair-amount ofstructuralmstrengthEand also is sufiiciently hygroscopicto, be used-inany part of asalt dispenser. I pour the, wetted plaster of Paris intothe mold I9;in Fig. l whichzis indi cated by dotted lines whilethe mold1 9 is in an inverted position. I next agitate thismater ia l to drive,out any air bubbles and then insert the core. wn lsqr doi ed lin sh theition shown and hold same in place until the plastic plaster .of. .Parishas set sufiibiently "to hold the core. 20. Inside or an hour the' moldl9 and corezii maybe removed as the'plaster of into a solid Paris willhave set withinjthis ti V "Sometimes substance which is; called gypsii Iinsert the tapered care in only part way into the mold"l9andthendrilhout or otherwise re- 'move' or'cut out therestof'theinterior; I also sometimes do not use the core 20, but drillout the whole'cavity; Thisc'an" veryreadily'bedon'e as gypsumdrills'and'carv'es"easily: When the freshly cast body is removed fromthemold-it is very damp and it must be dried thoroughly before usingsame as a dispenser. For drying the body I generally use hot air or gasfumes although the body will dry out in dry air. I make the inside ofthe body tapered as shown at la for ease of molding, to increasecapacity and to provide a tapered seat for the cork stopper 3. A taperedseat for the stopper has several advantages. It reduces wear on thegypsum body where the stopper contacts same and also reduces wear on thestopper. Further, the stopper may be pushed tightly in place and stillbe removed relatively easily. If wear does occur in the stopper seat thestopper is made tight by merely pushing it in a little further. In Fig.7. 22 indicates a coating for the inside of the dispenser where thestopper contacts the dispenser body to prevent wear of the gypsum by thestopper at this point. 2 isathe dispensing opening and I1) is a taperedportion to facilitate prying out stopper 3, p

In molding body I as shown in Fig. l, I have used for my experimentalmodels plastic cups I9 and plastic cup shaped cores 2t which havesubstantially the same taper as ordinary corks. In some of these moldsI9 I'd rill a one-half inch hole ZI which I cover with tape beforepouring in the wetted plaster of Paris. When the plaster of Parishardens I use a short piece of wooden dowel materialand place one end inhole 2| and then strike the dowel with a hammer to drive the body Ifrom. mold I9. I support the inverted mold I9 on two square pieces ofsteel, which are well known and are notshown, so placed that the body Iwill not touch same as it is forced out of mold iii. 'The body I canalso be removed from mold 19 where hole, 2| is not provided by invertingthe filled mold and bringing the edges of or rim of the mold I9 downsharply on tothe above mentioned square pieces of steel. I prefer toremove the body I from the mold I9 before drilling or cutting out thewhole of the inside as otherwise the head might be broken in whendriving the body I out of mold I9. I have also used a light or thinplastic mold l9 and left the mold on the body permanently as I find thatit is advisable to cover the body I with a moistureproof envelope orcovering as shown by 13 in Fig; 6 or by a partial covering as shown byI3a inFig. 'I. The reasons for the covering will be explained later.

Fig. 2 in side elevation a completed dispenser having a moisture-proofenvelope on the outside "thereof.

In Fig. 3, l is the hygroscopic dispenser body as in Fig. l and ahygroscopic stopper 4 with a pull cord 5 for removing the stopper.

In Fig. 4 a cork stopper 6 with pull cord I is shown. The stopper 6 isdrilled for cord I and the upper end is machined out so as to make apocket 5a for the bent-over cord ends and this pocket is filled with asyrupy mixture of plaster of Paris and water to anchor the cord to thestopper.

In Fig. 5, 9 represents the hygroscopic body and IQ is hygroscopic plugwith a removable cork stopper fitted therein. Plug I0 before insertingin place in '9 is coated with a thin slurry of plaster of Paris and isthus firmly attached to 9 at I2. Ifla indicates a beveled or recessedportion to permit the stopper to be pried loose. I find that an ordinaryteaspoon as indicated by dotted lines I8 in Fig. '7 is a verysatisfactory tool for removing cork stoppers where a pull cord is Inotprovided,

Figs. 6 and '7 are enlarged partial sectional elevations of the body Ishown in Fig. l, but with the addition of a water-proof envelope I3covering the Whole of the exterior surface of the body I as shown inFig. 6 and a water-proof envelope I3a covering only part of the body Ias shown in Fig. '7. The water-proof envelopes I3 and I3! can also bemade by painting a good quality of enamel paint :on the exteriorsurfaces of body I. Whether one uses a preformed plastic envelope orpaints same on can be decided on the basis of relative availability andcosts. In Figs, 6 and '7, 2 is the dispensing opening as in Fig. 1. InFig. I the water-proof envelope is carried up inside the body I asindicated by 22 where the cork stopper contacts same to reduce wear onthe body at this point.

I find by tests and experiments, wherein I placed the various types ofdispensers shown on my drawing in an open window having a canopy ormetal awning so that the dispensers could not be contacted by fallingrain, that if one does not cover the outside of the hygroscopic body Iwith a water-proof envelope salt in the dispenser soon becomes dampduring a 12 to 24 hour period such as accompanies an over-night rain. Adispenser partially covered as by 13a in Fig. 7 will show some dampeningof salt within a 24 hour rainy period while a dispenser protectedcompletely by a water-proof envelope I3 as shown in Fig. 6 will show nodampening of the salt within the above period.

In Fig. 8 I show a china envelope l4 coated on the inside with ahygroscopic material I5 such as is used for the dispenser bodies I inFig. 6. I5 is the dispensing opening and IT is the cork stopper, [4c isthe neck of the envelope I4, 14a is the base and I417 is a taperedportion to aid in removing the stopper II. The hygroscopic coating orlining I5 may be castin envelope I4 and then partially cored out and thebalance machined out as in Fig. l, or a plastic mixture of plaster ofParis may be poured into the inside of I4 and then by turning M aroundslowly in all directions the coating IE will be distributed fairlyevenly over the inside surfaces of I and will harden in a few minutes. Athicker'coat may be added by repeating the operation, but this should bedone before the previous coat has driedout. The dispensing opening I6 isdrilled after the coating I5 has hardened and then the interior of thedispenser must be thoroughly dried out before using.

What I claim is:

1. In combination in a dispenser for finely divided material comprising,a container body having a dispensing passage in the top portion and afilling opening in the bottom portion thereof, said container bodycomprising a cast and relatively fragile body of hygroscopic materialwith a dispensing passage formed therein, a water- 'proof envelopeencircling and contacting the said body of hygroscopic material, aclosure member comprising a resilient material for closing said fillingopening by making sealing contact with said envelope, said envelope atthe bottom portion of said body being positioned between said body andsaid closure member where said closure member makes sealing contact withsaid envelope, whereby said closure member does not contact and wearsaid hygroscopic material when being removed and replaced.

2. In combination in a dispenser for finely divided material comprising,a container body having a dispensing passage in the top portion and afilling opening in the bottom portion thereof, said container bodycomprising a cast and relatively fragile body of hygroscopic materialwith said dispensing passage formed therein, a water-proof envelopeencircling and contacting the said body of hygroscopic material, aclosure member comprising a resilient material for closing said fillingopening by making sealing contact with said envelope, said envelope atthe bottom portion of said body being turned inwardly to define andshape said filling opening in said hygroscopic body.

3. In combination in a dispenser for finely divided material comprising,a container having a dispensing passage in the top portion and a fillingopening in the bottom portion thereof, said container comprising a castand relatively fragile body of hygroscopic material with said dispensingpassage formed therein, a waterproof envelope encircling and contactingsaid hygroscopic body, a closure member comprising a resilient materialfor closing said filling opening by making sealing contact with saidenvelope, said envelope at the bottom portion of said container beingpositioned between said hygroscopic body and said closure member,whereby said closure member does not contact and wear said hygroscopicmaterial when being removed and replaced, and means for retaining saidbody in said envelope.

4. In combination in a dispenser for finely divided material comprising,a container body having a dispensing passage in the top portion and afilling opening in the bottom portion thereof, said container bodycomprising a cast and relatively fragile body of hygroscopic materialwith said dispensing passage formed therein, a water-proof preformedenvelope encircling and contacting said body of hygroscopic material, aclosure member comprising a resilient material for closing said fillingopening by making sealing contact with said envelope, said envelope atthe bottom portion of said dispenser being positioned between said bodyand said closure member, whereby said closure member does not contactand wear said hygroscopic material when being removed and replaced.

EARL W. CLARK.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 917,804 Sedgwick Apr. 13, 1909 1,889,593 Davis Nov, 29, 19322,273,727 Rowen et a1 Feb. 17, 1942

